The town wasn't far from the county seat. In under an hour, Lin Hanzhang returned to her small clinic.

“Xiao Liu!” She parked her electric bike and called into the house.

“Coming, Sister Lin!”

A somewhat naive rural youth emerged from the inner room, around twenty years old.

Lin Jin and Qin Yi were both surprised. They’d never seen any man around Aunt Lin as kids. Where had this guy come from?

“You two…” He clearly hadn’t expected children and froze for a moment.

Then he scratched his head, grinned warmly, and reached for Qin Yi’s hand. “You must be Lin Jin, Sister Lin’s son. I’m Liu Yidao from our village—graduated from city med school. Here to apprentice under your mom.”

Qin Yi glanced at him but didn’t take the hand.

The air turned painfully awkward.

Lin Hanzhang chuckled. “Alright, this isn’t Xiao Jin. This is Qin Yi, her good friend. And this is Xiao Jin—my daughter.” She pointed to the Kitten Girl.

Daughter?

Liu Yidao blinked in confusion. Hadn’t the village said Sister Lin only had one son, born out of wedlock?

Hiding his doubts, he feigned realization. “Oh! Good friend, good friend—I get it. Boyfriend, right? Didn’t expect Sister Lin’s daughter to date so young. When’s the wedding?”

Awkwardness thickened again.

Lin Hanzhang sighed inwardly. This clumsy clinic helper always ruined the mood.

Liu Yidao noticed the girl hiding behind the boy with clear disdain. He scratched his head, laughed it off, and ushered them inside.

“Hey, Qin Yi~” The Kitten Girl pressed close to his ear, her breath warm and sweet.

“Hmm?” Qin Yi felt a tickle but couldn’t pull away.

“That man wants to chase my mom.”

“How do you know?” His tone dripped with disdain.

It stung Lin Jin’s pride. She punched his back with a tiny pink fist. “Tch! Believe it or not—my intuition says so, meow.”

“You don’t like him?”

“It’s not that… I just worry he’ll treat Mom badly. You know how villagers are…” Her voice dipped, recalling old hurts. “And… he’s too young, meow.”

“Everyone deserves happiness. As kids, we just bless them, right?”

“Tch. Easy for you—he’s not your mom.” The Kitten Girl pouted, unconvinced.

“She’s not my mother, but—” Qin Yi turned to argue.

He’d forgotten one thing: Lin Jin still leaned against his ear.

Or maybe he hadn’t forgotten at all.

His turn was swift. Before the Kitten Girl could react, his lips met her tender pink ones.